Summer Olympic Games 1992

Pleas by Olympic officials to close a controversial exhibit of a stuffed African tribesman during the Summer Games will be rejected, the vice mayor of Banyoles said Tuesday. Carles Abella said the decision to keep the exhibit open is "irrevocable" despite pressure from the International Olympic Committee and citizens who charge the museum display is racist.

The luxury hotel where the U.S. men's basketball team is supposed to stay is still under construction. Yachting officials say they fear hepatitis and bacterial problems from the polluted Mediterranean, the soccer team must play two of its opening-round games 200 miles to the west in Zaragoza, and the lack of air-conditioning in either the athletes' village or on the team buses has everybody concerned. Then there's the marathon course. . . .

John Treacy of Ireland, silver-medal winner in the 1984 Olympic marathon, and Martin Mondragon of Mexico, the course record-holder in Los Angeles, will compete in the L.A. Marathon on March 1. Mondragon's performance will determine whether he qualifies for the Mexican Olympic team.

Pleas by Olympic officials to close a controversial exhibit of a stuffed African tribesman during the Summer Games will be rejected, the vice mayor of Banyoles said Tuesday. Carles Abella said the decision to keep the exhibit open is "irrevocable" despite pressure from the International Olympic Committee and citizens who charge the museum display is racist.

Jim Courier of Florida, Michael Stich of Germany and Stefan Edberg of Sweden, the three players who combined to win the four men's 1991 Grand Slam titles, head the list of competitors for tennis events at this summer's Olympics, the International Tennis Federation announced. American Pete Sampras, the 1990 U.S. Open champion, and Boris Becker, a three-time Wimbledon winner from Germany, also will play. Michael Chang is also on the U.S. team.

Far too many athletes and officials have signed up for the Summer Games, Olympic organizers warned, and some nations will be forced to thin their squads. The Barcelona Olympic Organizing Committee (COOB) said it already has received accreditation requests from 18,972 athletes and team officials--far beyond its limit of 15,000.

The International Olympic Committee won agreement Monday for the former Soviet republics to compete together in the Olympics for the last time. Despite requests from Ukraine and Georgia to compete independently, the IOC persuaded all 12 former republics to field a unified team during the Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. The IOC granted provisional recognition to each of the national Olympic committees of the 12 republics on the condition that they take part in a joint team.

The luxury hotel where the U.S. men's basketball team is supposed to stay is still under construction. Yachting officials say they fear hepatitis and bacterial problems from the polluted Mediterranean, the soccer team must play two of its opening-round games 200 miles to the west in Zaragoza, and the lack of air-conditioning in either the athletes' village or on the team buses has everybody concerned. Then there's the marathon course. . . .

For most competitive swimmers, timing is everything. A fingernail scraping a touch pad hundredths of seconds ahead of the next guy can be the difference between an Olympic medal and telling your grandchildren about what might have been. So they spend most of their lives looking at the clock. Often, however, the calendar is the greater foe.

Far too many athletes and officials have signed up for the Summer Games, Olympic organizers warned, and some nations will be forced to thin their squads. The Barcelona Olympic Organizing Committee (COOB) said it already has received accreditation requests from 18,972 athletes and team officials--far beyond its limit of 15,000.

The International Olympic Committee won agreement Monday for the former Soviet republics to compete together in the Olympics for the last time. Despite requests from Ukraine and Georgia to compete independently, the IOC persuaded all 12 former republics to field a unified team during the Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain. The IOC granted provisional recognition to each of the national Olympic committees of the 12 republics on the condition that they take part in a joint team.

For most competitive swimmers, timing is everything. A fingernail scraping a touch pad hundredths of seconds ahead of the next guy can be the difference between an Olympic medal and telling your grandchildren about what might have been. So they spend most of their lives looking at the clock. Often, however, the calendar is the greater foe.

Jim Courier of Florida, Michael Stich of Germany and Stefan Edberg of Sweden, the three players who combined to win the four men's 1991 Grand Slam titles, head the list of competitors for tennis events at this summer's Olympics, the International Tennis Federation announced. American Pete Sampras, the 1990 U.S. Open champion, and Boris Becker, a three-time Wimbledon winner from Germany, also will play. Michael Chang is also on the U.S. team.

John Treacy of Ireland, silver-medal winner in the 1984 Olympic marathon, and Martin Mondragon of Mexico, the course record-holder in Los Angeles, will compete in the L.A. Marathon on March 1. Mondragon's performance will determine whether he qualifies for the Mexican Olympic team.